How 7 Lakes Alliance’s YCC Program Harnesses the Power of Young Conservationists

Most of the grantees we support at the Onion Foundation partner collaboratively with other organizations to share resources, engage community members, and advocate for social and environmental change. By working together, they’re able to drive collective action and extend their impact to more Mainers.

7 Lakes Alliance is a shining example of this community engagement. Its Youth Conservation Corps (YCC) is just one of several community-focused programs it offers to support land and water conservation in the Belgrade Lakes region. The YCC program helps burgeoning environmentalists develop new skills, shape their conservation-oriented mindset, and do their part to protect the lakes that make Maine special.

Nurturing Environmental Care

Through the YCC program, high school and college students get the opportunity to make a difference in both 7 Lakes Alliance’s larger conservation efforts and the communities that enjoy those lakes every day. For the young participants, it’s a meaningful way to learn something new and act on the values they’re beginning to develop.

A study on pro-environmental activism found that the drive to act on one’s values was the leading cause of young people’s participation in such work. And research also shows that engaging in environmental work at a young age can have long-term benefits. One study found that the work promotes sustainable behaviors and helps young participants “become environmentally responsible and civically engaged adults.”

These young environmentalists also inspire others to act. When contributing to climate-related conservation efforts and climate activism, one study found, young people contribute innovative ideas and motivate others to care more about the environment.

About the YCC

Hosting Maine’s largest Youth Conservation Corps, 7 Lakes Alliance is helping foster conservation-oriented mindsets in the program’s young participants. Since its inception in the late 1990s, the YCC has trained high schoolers and college students to support homeowners, businesses, and municipalities in preventing erosion and protecting water quality.

“Our main goal is to reduce the amount of runoff, phosphorus, and pollutants entering lakes and do so in a way that’s cost-effective for homeowners and provides crew members with real-life job experience,” says Stuart Cole, 7 Lakes Alliance’s Erosion Control Project Manager.

In 2025, 17 young crew members will complete more than 100 projects to help the organization achieve these goals. Through hands-on training and paid work, the crew will:

• Create drywells and infiltration trenches of crushed stone that allow runoff to move away from buildings and into storage areas

• Set up rain gardens in which runoff systems will guide water to areas filled with plants resilient to dry spells and flooding

• Establish shoreline riprap, which are angular rocks that support soil

• Construct vegetated buffers that filter phosphorus from runoff

The work requires both physicality and a keen understanding of the impact of erosion and runoff on the state’s lakes. From the spring to the fall each year, Cole trains crew members in these key topics and oversees their on-the-ground work, inspiring many to continue this work beyond the YCC program. “It’s more than just a summer job,” says Cole. “It’s something the crew members can build off of and eventually bring into their professional lives.”

Where Students Find Their Passion

According to Cole, the YCC program enlists young people with varying levels of environmental knowledge. “College students are typically going to school for environment science or something similar, but it’s often the high school students’ first job. They’re just figuring out where they want to go in life,” says Cole.

That’s the beauty of the program: Part education, part work, the YCC program is designed to help young people establish their own perspectives on this kind of professional work and better understand the importance of conservation overall.

“Some people do it and learn that they really don’t want to work outside, and I’m happy to help them learn that,” Cole says. “Other people do it and realize that they want to be outside all the time, and I’m happy to help with that, too. Either way, it’s cool to give them an experience they might not otherwise get.”

Crew members who find their passion in the YCC program often carry the work forward into their professional lives. Many former members now work for the Maine Department of Environment Protection, the Natural Resources Conservation Services, and other conservation-focused agencies. Some even start environmental businesses of their own.

Regardless of their professional work, however, every YCC crew member builds confidence, a better resume, and a stronger belief in the power of conservation. As Cole says, “we do projects that actually matter.”

For the Future of Maine

It’s not just the YCC crew members who benefit from the program, though. The organization has a constant stream of homeowners and business owners, who also get a cost-effective way to address erosion and runoff on their properties. “We’re able to complete a large number of projects because we focus on very specific things,” says Cole. “We’re installing structures that keep the lakes cleaner, so anyone who uses these lakes is benefiting from the work we do.”

Indeed, this work is done in service of environmental and lake protection — something dear to the hearts of many Mainers. “Having clean lakes isn’t just a big economic driver,” Cole says. “It also increases our biodiversity and protects the fish and wildlife. It makes our state a better place all around.”

With young crew members at the forefront of this work, 7 Lakes Alliance’s YCC program is building a stronger collective environmental consciousness, while making strides toward a better, more healthy Maine for future generations of lake enthusiasts.